


The Fathers of Saar and Italia

by LaReineDuLune



Category: Hartenstraat, Il Padre D'Italia
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:14:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27570595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaReineDuLune/pseuds/LaReineDuLune
Summary: I couldn't help myself! I have taken Luca Marinelli's Paolo from "Il Padre D'Italia", and Marwan Kenzari's Daan from "Hartenstraat" and done what all fans are compelled to do - match them up as must be done in light of the awesomeness that is The Old Guard's Nicky and Joe.So here it is, a little slice of life for the sweetest pair of single dads out there.
Relationships: Paolo/Daan
Comments: 22
Kudos: 118





	The Fathers of Saar and Italia

The Fathers of Saar and Italia  
©2020 La Reine Du Lune  
  
“Paolo, the girls will be fine, I promise, we’re late for our reservation. We don’t want to lose the table,” Daan implored, tugging at his boyfriend’s sleeve knowing it was futile. It was easy to see he was all tied up in knots at the prospect of leaving the toddler alone, no matter how capable, responsible and careful his own daughter was. Little Italia, just two years and two months old, had never been without her father’s company in her tiny life he was afraid, but moreso for himself. He’d never been away from her either.

Paolo had come to the Netherlands nearly a year past, his infant daughter in tow, leaving behind all he’d ever known. It had taken Daan six months after meeting him to coax the truth from him. Despite the near certainly that the child’s mother wouldn’t come back for her, he’d been afraid she still might. He was not the child’s biological father after all, despite what her birth certificate said. He’d run to escapes a morose, lonely, complicated life in Italy to start over in a foreign country with a new language and complications of its own. Earning Paolo’s trust had been no small feat. They had begun as tentative friends and neighbours. Daan was single again after his relationship with Katje had gone down in flames. He was long over the initial heartbreak. His focus had been solely on Saar after that and he’d not been looking for love even a year later, but then Paolo arrived in the apartment across the hall. There before Daan was an exceedingly attractive single father that seemed to be nervous about everything at any given moment of the day. It had taken a lot of coaxing and effort to get him to even have a conversation – Paolo’s Dutch was mediocre at best, but he clearly cared to put effort into improving as much as he could.

The new father was a mess most of the time, and Daan, well experienced with a child of his own on the verge of teen-hood, had offered his help. Once Paolo had relented, a friendship at been born. Now a year later, they were boyfriends and when they could get a break from being fathers, they were lovers. Finding time to be together and go out on actual dates was virtually impossible. More often than not, Paolo and baby came to dinner and the four of them ate together before Paolo took his daughter home to put her to bed. They often met when both children were fast asleep, sitting on the floor outside their doors, just talking until they could barely keep their eyes open. Their first kiss was between their two doors.

It had helped soothe Paolo’s nerves that his daughter adored Daan. As soon as he opened the door in the morning, she’d toddle across the hall the smack her tiny fist at the door until Daan opened and picked her up to her squeals of delight and kissed her chubby cheek before handing her back to her father. Little by little, Paolo’s defenses eased away and they were left with a romance that was quiet and comfortable. Beneath the surface however was a deep, burgeoning passion. It helped that the sex between them was undeniably phenomenal.

“Paolo?” Daan questioned. The other man turned to him and upon noticing the look in his eye, Daan’s heart sank. “I’ll call and cancel.”

Paolo stared at him for a moment then gave his head a shake. “No, no we won’t cancel. I’m sorry we can go. It’s just… she’s my baby…”

“I know, darling, I know. But, she’s with my baby, and Saar is thirteen years old now, she passed her babysitting course with flying colours, and Mrs. Van Buren is next door and promised to be home all night. Saar and Italia adore each other. They’ll play for a couple of hours, eat the meals I left in your fridge and probably watch television. We’ll only be gone two hours. You know Saar’s responsible.”

“Yes, I know. She’s a wonderful child, but I’m…. never mind. I’ll endure.”

“You’re supposed to enjoy dinner with me, not _endure_ it.”

“You know that’s not what I meant.”

Daan smiled, showing his dimples and kissed Paolo’s cheek. “Saar, we’re leaving!” he called out to his daughter.

“Italia, come say goodbye to Papà!” said Paolo said in echo to Daan. His little one came running with a squeal of laughter as Saar urged her on. Paolo knelt with his arms wide open, but his daughter dodged him and ran straight past him into Daan’s waiting arms. With a laugh he scooped her up and kissed her, catching Paolo’s eye as he stood up. “Traitor,” he spoke, but accepted his daughter as she reached for him. He hugged her tight, burying his face in her neck, even as she giggled and squirmed to be put down. Once he relinquished her she didn’t look back as she dove towards her mountain of toys.

“I promise I’ll take good care of her, Paolo,” Saar spoke, her eyes earnest and her voice confident.

Paolo nodded, and lay his hand to her shoulder. “I know you will, forgive me, I’ve never left her before,” he spoke softly.

Daan leaned in and kissed his daughter goodbye. “Lock up after us, don’t answer the door to anyone you. We’re three blocks away, Mrs. Van Buren has all the details. We both have our phones. We’ll be back in two hours.”

“I know! Go, or you’ll be late.” She pushed them both out the door and closed it behind them, locking up straight away.

Daan took Paolo’s hand in his and pulled him along, not even tempted to tease him as he looked over his shoulder more than once as they walked down the hallway.

The walk to the restaurant was brisk, but in the warmth of the late summer sunset, it was pleasant and peaceful. They held hands the entire walk and let go only when they took their seats in the corner of the bistro, right on time for their reservation.

“Do you want wine?” Daan asked, perusing the menu. Paolo shook his head, checking his watch. They’d only been gone twenty minutes. “Paolo?”

“Hmm?”

“Darling, I’ve been thinking of giving up the deli and opening a chainsaw wholesale outlet. I think that’s the one thing people in the city are really missing from their lives. Chainsaws.” Paolo, nodded his head in agreement and that was when Daan knew he’d lost him. “Why don’t we order something to go? We can bring the girls chocolate cake.” Daan took the menu that Paolo hadn’t been reading from his hands, folded it and placed it on the table.

Brought out of his daze, Paolo stared at Daan. “What?”

“I’d like to ask you the same thing, as in what’s going on with you tonight? It can’t just be about leaving your daughter without you for two hours.” Paolo remained silent and ran his hand down his face in an exasperation he couldn’t put into words. Daan sighed heavily and waved the waiter away when he came to ask them if they wanted to order drinks. “Are you bored?”

“Bored?”

“With me? With us? Do you want to end it?”

“What?”

“It’s just that things have been a little mundane lately, and routine. You’ve been distant for the past couple of weeks, maybe as long as a month. I thought you’d like a night out, have some adult time, some conversation that didn’t revolve around the children, but I feel like you’re a thousand miles away. So, I’m asking, if you’re breaking up with me?” Daan chewed the inside of his cheek and fiddled with the dessert spoon, unable to meet Paolo’s eyes. “It only been a year since we met, seven months since we started dating, and I thought we were okay, but Katje told me more than once that I didn’t understand her needs, that I was too domestic, not exciting enough, so if this isn’t what you want, I know Saar will be disappointed since she thinks we’re good together. She thinks you’re a little ridiculous, you know? Dramatic sometimes, but she thinks you’re sweet and funny… but it’s just a year. I was with Katje for four years, so she’s maybe less attached... but, I’m not. I won’t make a scene or anything, I’ll just take my things back over my place and you can collect yours…”

“You want us to break up?”

Daan noticed how Paolo’s bottom lip had begun to tremble and he was confused. “No, of course not.”

“Then why are you talking about it?”

Daan sobered. “Because you’re not talking about anything and I’m jumping to conclusions?”

Paolo put his head in his hands and tried not to start shaking. He sniffed loudly and took a few calming breaths. “I don’t want to break up.”

Daan felt the knot he’d inadvertently tied his stomach into ease a fraction. ”Will you tell me what’s wrong then?”

“I’m a mess.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed. Most of the time it’s endearing, but you worry me sometimes.”

“I don’t mean to.”

“I know. I can’t help it, I care about you, a lot. You mean the world to me.”

Paolo couldn’t help but smile at Daan’s soft words. He felt a tear well up in his eye and he brushed it away before it could spill over. “I don’t deserve you.”

“Don’t be foolish, of course you do. We deserve this, what we have. We’ve both had our share of heartbreak and hard times. I think we have a good thing between us.”

“You’re not boring, and I like that you’re domestic. I feel safe with you. I don’t feel safe most of the time.”

Daan reached across the table and took Paolo’s hand in his. “My darling, talk to me.”

Paolo sighed and closed his eyes. “I’m afraid to be happy, and you make me happy. So happy I can’t think straight half the time. I adore Saar and I love how much Italia looks up to her, mimics her, follows her around. She loves her.”

“Saar loves her too.”

“And… and… and I love you, Daan.” Paolo’s confession nearly knocked the wind out of Daan’s lungs. He’d imagined what it would be like to hear those words from his sweet man, but he hadn’t been expecting them. “And I’ve learned that if I love something, or someone, if I get attached, then inevitably I will lose them. Every day I am afraid Mia will show up on my door to take her daughter back. I’m afraid that someone will decide that a gay man shouldn’t be a father, especially one who is alone, and take her from me. Every day I’m afraid that something will happen to her, she’ll get sick, someone will kidnap her. I’m afraid all the time. I’m afraid you’ll leave me too, they always leave me.”

Angry with himself over spilling out his confession to suddenly, Paolo shifted to leave, but Daan held firm to his hand and wouldn’t let go. Paolo’s face was hot and his body ached with emotion.

“I love you too,” Daan spoke quietly, his eyes shimmering with the power of the words. “You’ve given me so much, taught me so much. You helped me come to terms with my bisexuality. You showed me how incredible sex can be with a man – and let me tell you, I think we’re pretty incredible! You quit smoking! But it’s more than that. I admire you, so much. You might think you were running away by leaving Italy, but I think it was destiny. You found a good job, a boring job that I think is beneath you…” Paolo laughed. Daan was right. Paolo worked for a Dutch design firm creating digital blue prints from artists’ concepts for furniture so they could be easily mass produced in a factory. It was mundane and dull, but it paid well and he could work from home to be with his daughter. He was good at it and was always above his quota from month to month. “You educated yourself and took the classes so you could do that lousy job, when you know you should be designing your own furniture. I’ve seen your drawings, they’re inspired. I know you love working with your hands. You should learn joinery and carpentry, make your own…” Paolo had dismissed Daan’s suggestion more than once, even though he knew deep down it was what he wanted to do. “You learned another language. You fit in here. And then of course there is Italia. She is the happiest little girl I’ve ever encountered. She’s thriving, and that’s all because of you. She gives love without measure because that’s what you’ve given her. You’re an amazing father.”

Paolo did tear up at hearing those words. He thought he’d never seen a better father than Daan. Saar was perfect. He loved them both. Daan held his hand in both of his and smiled that sweet, dimpled smile that always made Paolo’s heart skip a beat. “Do you know why I moved to the Netherlands?” Daan shook his head. He knew in the abstract, but nothing especially specific. “I came here because it was one of the most progressive countries in the EU for gay rights, especially when it comes to parental rights. It was here or Malta, but I had better opportunities for work here.”

“Not the worst reason in the world.”

“No, but it wasn’t out of love for this country, or a yearning. It was just somewhere else to be, to start over. I had no real plans, I just wanted to escape my old life and everyone from it.”

“Turned out to be an ok decision in the end, don’t you think?”

Paolo smiled, perhaps the first real smile Daan had seen in days. “Yes. I have no regrets. I’m still afraid though. I can’t help it.”

“I’ll do my best to make you feel safe. I promise you are. _We_ are. We fit into each others lives so well. In fact…”

“Yes?”

Daan paused, wondering if the present was the right time to bring up the suggestion that was waiting on the tip of his tongue. “Maybe tonight isn’t the night…”

“Go on, please. I’m better now that I’ve said things out loud. Daan, I love you, I trust you.”

Daan smiled, he was excited at the prospect of what he was about to say. He prayed that he and Paolo could be on the same page about it. He looked into those bright, sea coloured eyes and felt a warmth suffuse him. For all Paolo’s emotional baggage and self-recriminations, he was a good soul and just needed to be reassured every now and again. “So, two floors up, the top floor of our building, there’s an apartment who’s current tenant’s lease is over about a month before Christmas. I met the wife in the courtyard the other day and they’re moving out into a house. I asked the landlord about maybe leasing it myself, well, us leasing it. It’s twice the size of our places, and there’s three bedrooms. We could live together, us and the children. We could be a family.” When Paolo’s jaw dropped and his face went blank, Daan cursed himself. In the back of his mind he knew it was too soon into the relationship to suggest living together. His heart sunk all the way down to his shoes. “Uh, never mind, then. It was just an idea… Paolo?”

There was no mistaking the moment Paolo broke. He let out a wounded sound and his face crumbled and contorted in the most unattractive way. Tears burst from his eyes and he began to weep in front of everyone in the restaurant. They started attracting stares as Paolo hiccupped and just let himself go, crying in earnest, oblivious to the scene he was making. Daan gave the other diners an apologetic look as he rose from the table, pulling Paolo along with him and leading him out of the restaurant. Out on the street he kept at it, tears streaming down his face. More than a little worried, Daan hurried him along, across the street and into the park, finding them a bench by the canal where they could sit in peace. When Daan placed his hands on Paolo’s shoulders, the other man collapsed against him, burying his face in Daan’s chest as he cried himself hoarse. He cleaved to him, muttering apologies between gasps for air. Daan held him and rubbed his back to try and calm him. When eventually Paolo stopped he made no move to leave the circle of Daan’s embrace but instead held on to him, unwilling to let go.

Daan pet his hair and did he best to soothe him. He’d seen Paolo in tears before, watching a sad movie, or when the baby did something especially cute, but never anything like this.

“I told you I’m a mess,” Paolo sniffed. “I’ve ruined your shirt.”

“I know you’re a mess, and I don’t care about my shirt.”

“I’ve never had a family before. I was an infant when I was left at the orphanage. I’ve been on my own since I came of age. All my relationships have failed. You said we could be a family and something inside me just… just fell to pieces. I’ve never had a family before, and it’s all I’ve ever wanted. You said the words and it was too much, I can’t imagine that being this happy can be real.”

Daan eased Paolo from his arms and immediately, brought him back into them, capturing his lips for one of their most passionate kisses yet. Daan held Paolo’s face in his hands and poured all the love he could conjure into kissing him. He could taste his tears and he drank them like they were life. Only when they needed to breathe again did they part and they sat on their bench and held each other with all their might until the moment had passed. Daan tucked Paolo up against him and they sat in silence, watching the activity on the canal.

“I’ll talk to the landlord again tomorrow, tell him we’ll take the apartment?” Daan asked.

Paolo nodded. “Yes. We’ll be in by Christmas?”

“Definitely.”

“Good. I love you, Daan, I’m sorry for all these dramatics. I guess Saar was right about me.”

“You’re Italian, it’s be expected.” Daan laughed at his own joke and Paolo smacked his chest. “I love you too."

"Thank you, for everything. Will Saar be ok with us living together?”

“Who’s idea do you think it was in the first place? She loves Italia like they’re already sisters, and she adores you too. This is going to be good. This is the sort of relationship that can last a lifetime. We’re going raise our daughters together, we’re going to love each other, support each other, and I am absolutely forcing you to go back to school to become a joiner and carpenter. Someday we’re going to get married, and be happy, secure and safe.”

“My answer will be yes. If you asked me to marry you. It will be yes.”

“Noted.” Daan smiled and kissed Paolo’s forehead. “C’mon, we’ll get fish and chips and walk along the canal to home.”

“Will you spend the night? Saar can sleep on the couch again?”

“I’d be happy to. Soon every night will be spent together.”

“Italia will be so happy to have her _vader_ with her. She loves you more than me, you know?”

“I doubt that very much, you’re her whole world. She likes me because I give her pastries and I don’t tell her _no_. I like that _Papà_ and _Vader_.”

Paolo smiled and kissed Daan again, this time with less passion but instead with gratitude and reverence. He looked into Daan’s soulful dark eyes and finally saw a future for himself, for his daughter. He saw a wonderful man who would one day be his husband, and in those eyes he saw the beginning of a family of his own


End file.
